How Things Can Change!
by MelodiousVengeance
Summary: Lily has just moved in next door to the Potters and is not to happy about it. That is until Petunia says something that will change Lily's life forever. Not really good at summaries, Sorry. LJ Currently being Reposted.
1. Pests

**A/N: Hey guys, this is Vengeance here. So as some may know, I am redoing some of my stories starting with this one. I'm keeping the same plot, however, I hope I have grown over these past four years, and the story will be a little better. Please enjoy, and if you like it let me know.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

A sixteen year old Lily Evans sat on her bed, parchment and textbooks strewn across it, as well as her floor. She was deep into the middle of working on her summer homework, and she was desperate to get it done. She had recently moved into this new house and she hadn't had a chance to explore or meet any of her neighbours. Currently she was working on finishing her potions essay. It wasn't necessarily Lily's favorite subject offered at the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but it was a class she needed to do well in if she was ever to become an Auror.

"Finally, I'm done," Lily exclaimed as a wide grin spread across her face. She was quite proud of herself having finished her homework so fast. She was only a couple days into vacation and she had already finished everything they had been assigned over the summer. Of course, this was no surprise. When Lily Evans set her mind to something, she got it done.

'Ding dong'

Lily couldn't help but sigh lightly. Ever since she had come home there had been people coming to the door like clockwork wanting to introduce themselves to the new neighbours. Of course Lily wasn't against meeting new people; she was going to have to make friends eventually. Her problem was the fact that most of the people who were coming over were older adults, there weren't a whole lot of people around that were her age. At least, she hadn't met them yet.

After a short moment Lily had resigned herself to having to go to the door herself instead of getting to straighten up her homework. That was until her older sister Petunia called out, making sure everyone in the house was aware that she was getting the door.

"Hello," she heard the sickly sweet voice of her sister answering the door, the rest of the conversation being drowned out by a scream.

Without a second's thought Lily launched herself off her bed and shot downstairs to the kitchen where she thought the sound had come from. She hadn't even bothered to look and see who her sister had let in. Over the years Lily had become accustomed to reacting quickly when it sounded like something was going wrong. Mostly because when you were a Muggleborn with a lot of enemies, you had to have quick reflexes.

"Mom?" called Lily as she walked in. She didn't see her mother right away, it took her a moment to realize she was curled up tight on the counter pointing towards the corner of the kitchen and looking pale. "What's the matter?" Lily asked her, getting rather worried with how her mother was acting. From a first glance it didn't look like there was anything wrong.

"A mouse, over there, in the corner," said her mother rather breathlessly pointing out the miscreant. Lily attempted to hide her laughter, not wanting to embarrass her mother. To make things easier, she figured it a good idea to send her mother out to the den with her sister and their new guests.

"Why don't you go to the den and visit with the new neighbours with Petunia. I can handle the mouse," she told her mother trying to be as calming as she could. She really didn't see why her mother feared the mouse so much, but she said nothing about it. Now was not the time anyway, and who was she to chastise someone on their fears, Lily herself was afraid of heights. "Go on," Lily said, making shooing motions, finally coaxing her mother off the counter and towards the den.

"Thank you dear," she said calmly, patting at her hair as she walked into the den, leaving Lily to get to work.

Lily moved towards the corner her mother had indicated, attempting to be as quiet as she could. She didn't want to scare the thing into running off. Lily hadn't realized that her mother had managed to at least catch it under a clear plastic salad bowl before, or during, her scramble to get to higher grounds and away from the rodent. Lily made a mental note to praise her mother for her actions and then set to work.

"Here mousey. Nice mousey," she cooed as she lifted the bowl enough to snatch the mouse's tail and lift it up to eye level. It was a small mouse, maybe a baby. "Come on you, you've caused enough trouble," she told it as she walked to her back door and stepped out, making her way towards the woods in the back. She wasn't just going to throw it somewhere it would be able to easily run right back in. She wasn't planning on playing tag with this mouse for months on end.

Her mission completed, Lily made her way back to the house, planning on going upstairs and getting changed out of her over-sized Gryffindor t-shirt and into some regular clothing. She didn't want her new guests questioning where she had gotten it. She'd never be able to come up with a good cover fast enough, she was horrible at lying. Not to mention she didn't really like people to see her in the shirt period. It was a shirt that had belonged to someone she didn't like very much.

A few months ago she had been the victim of a prank and had ended up with two buckets of water being dumped on her, her white blouse instantly becoming soaked, as well as see through. Her friend Remus Lupin, thinking fast, had ripped the t-shirt off the back of his friend, Sirius Black, and handed it to Lily to cover herself up. After that she had been too embarrassed to seek out Sirius Black and give him back his shirt, and she had quickly found she liked it. It was large and comfortable, and she just genuinely didn't want to give it up.

She walked as quietly as she could, not wanting to alert anyone to her presence. She didn't want her new neighbour's first impression of her to be awful because they had caught her in her pajamas, and she couldn't imagine what her older sister would have to say about the whole thing.

She could hear muffled voices from the swinging door that divided the kitchen and den and thought it her chance to make a break for the stairs without being caught. She walked slowly, not wanting to draw any attention to herself by accident.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs Lily's face turned from one of slight triumph, to one of shear horror as she heard an all too familiar voice.

"Is that my shirt?"

**A/N: Well there is the new and improved chapter. If this is your first time reading it, I hope you enjoyed and will enjoy the rest of the story.**


	2. First Impressions

**A/N: Alright, here is chapter two. I hope you enjoy it. I'd also like to throw a shout out to my good friend Jane for beta-ing this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

Lily slowly turned her head to look into the den. Off to the side of her den sat a couch, which currently had two boys occupying it. On one side sat Sirius Black, his shoulder length hair looking wet like he had just gotten out of the shower, a smirk playing in his stormy eyes. On the other side sat James Potter. As usual, he was running a hand through his unruly black hair, and his hazel coloured eyes were trained on her. Or more specifically, the immense amount of leg exposed by the over-seized shirt.

"Maybe it is. Do you have a problem with that Black?" Lily asked, crossing her arms over her chest and putting on a strong front. She wouldn't let the fact that she felt uncomfortable be known by either boy. Showing any sort of weakness would just end with her being the victim of a prank or something else going wrong. It was what Lily thought the Marauders did best; take advantage of others' weaknesses.

Sirius shook his head at Lily's comment, a mischievous look on his face. "Not at all Flower. It looks much better on you. Don't you think Prongs?" Sirius asked his best friend and partner in crime, elbowing him in the ribs as he spoke. "Stunning," was all Potter seemed to get out of his mouth, his eyes never leaving Lily's legs.

That was enough for Lily.

"Right, well, if you don't mind I'm going to go get changed now," she said and then without waiting to hear any other comments that might be thrown her way jogged up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

When Lily got to her room she quickly shut the door and allowed herself to fall flat onto her bed, her face buried into her pillow. She was fairly certain that had been one of her most embarrassing encounters with the Marauders to date. It only made it worse that it had to have happened in her own home. The place she was supposed to be safe, and Potter free. Was there no where she could be safe anymore?

After a moment Lily resigned herself to the fact that if she didn't get dressed and join the others downstairs her mother would be up to get her.

She got up and rummaged around in her dresser finding a pair of white jean shorts and pale yellow tank top. She wasted no time in changing and then brushed through her hair to get rid of any tangles or static that may have wreaked havoc on it while she was outside or laying with her face in her pillow.

Deciding she was presentable Lily sighed a little and then made her way out of her room and back down the stairs, to join everyone in the den.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs and stood in the doorway, she looked around to see where everyone was sitting. Her mother was sitting in her father's chair in the corner, James and Sirius were sharing the couch, one on each side, and an older woman and gentleman were sharing a love seat. Lily could only assume they were Mister and Misses Potter.

"Lily, these are our new neighbours, the Potters. I take it you already know their son's friend Sirius. This is their son James, and this is Meredith and Harold Potter," Mrs. Evans said, pointing to each person in turn. Of course Lily really didn't need any introduction, but said nothing to her mother allowing her to go on. "Pet is making sandwiches, so why don't you sit on the couch with the boys?" her mother suggested, a blinding smile on her face.

"Sure mom," Lily said, trying to keep a happy tone to her voice, she had already botched her first impression when she was speaking to Sirius earlier, she best be making up for it. She didn't say a word as she strode over to the couch the two boys were occupying and stood right in front of Sirius. "Want to sit on my lap?" Sirius asked with a wolfish grin. Lily couldn't stop the eye roll that followed the comment as she shook her head. "Move over Black," she told him, there was no way she was going to sit between the two boys, Potters there or not.

Sirius looked from Lily to James and back again. "Sorry Prongsie," he told his best friend, using that stupid little nickname the Marauders had for him and then scooted over to sit in the middle of the couch. Once there was room Lily sat down in the spot Sirius had previously been occupying and moved to sit as close to the arm of the couch as possible, in other words, as far away from James as possible.

"So, you're the Lily Evans we've heard so much about," said Mrs. Potter breaking the ice. She smiled warmly when she spoke, like she already knew Lily and she was a trusted friend or something of the sort. Lily wasn't really sure what to make of it. Not that she was really concerned with the expression on the older woman's face, but more what she had said. "Excuse me?" Asked Lily in response to the comment looking from James to Sirius, both with a guilty smile on their faces.

Mrs. Potter smiled, and Lily couldn't help but notice that her bright blue eyes sparkled. "The boys here have told us a lot about you. They speak very highly of you in fact," she told her, moving a piece of black hair that had fallen from its place. Lily wasn't really sure what how to respond to the whole thing. It was a little hard for her to believe that they would talk about her at home.

She understood the whole thing when she was at school. If they never talked about her people would start to wonder if he really did like her. It was all part of the rouse. All Potter wanted from her was the thrill of the chase; the reputation that he can get whatever girl he wanted, and Lily was the ultimate conquest.

By the time she was over her shock, Lily didn't have the chance to respond to Mrs. Potter. By that time Petunia had re-entered the room, a tray of sandwiches in her hand, daggers shooting from her eyes to her little sister.

"What good could someone have to say about her? She's nothing but a pathetic freak," the venom was clear in her voice and the tray with the sandwiches shook as she spoke. Petunia was always blunt about her opinions on her little sister being a witch. Of course, Petunia still wasn't aware of the fact that the new neighbours were like her, they were magic.

Lily sighed, and bit her lip. She could take the sneers and awful comments the Slytherins threw at her, they were all so common to her now, but Lily didn't think she'd ever get used to the things her sister said. Lily loved Petunia, and she missed the times they used to be inseparable and the best of friends.

"I think I'll go for a walk. It was nice to meet you Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter," Lily said as she stood up and nodded to each elder Potter in turn and then strode out the door without another word, slamming it behind her.

The room was quiet as everyone stared at Petunia. "What?" she asked as she walked over the coffee table and placed the tray of sandwiches down, a triumphant look on her face. Though the look didn't stick long when she looked up to see the disapproval and disgust on the faces of everyone in the room.


	3. The Truth

**A/N: Here we are ladies and gents, chapter three. I hope you all like it. I know it isn't a whole lot of Lily and James goodness, but I think Mrs. Evans' reaction to Lily's life at Hogwarts needed to be mostly its own chapter. The awesome Beta Reading for this chapter is compliments of my wonderful friend Jane.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

"Really? That's how you treat your own sister?!" cried James as he watched Lily walk out and Petunia act like nothing had just happened between her and her younger sister.

Petunia was a little shocked when she was chastised by James. She had thought him handsome and had planned to try and get to know him better. He was a gorgeous boy, and from what she could tell from the house next door, wealthy. It only took her a moment to regain her composure however, ignoring the fact that her mother was looking at her with a sad look in her eyes and the Potters looked like their jaws were going to unhinge.

"You don't know her. I've known her my whole life. Trust me, she is a freak," she told them, trying to keep as calm and pleasant as possible. The idea of talking about her sister alone made her nauseous, let alone the actual act of talking to her. She wished she would just stay at that freak school of hers and not have to come home and ruin everything for her. She always brought out the worst in her, and here she was trying to defend herself against this gorgeous boy, and his handsome friend.

"Trust me, I know almost all I can about Lily Rose Evans, and I know she is nothing but a kind and caring person. More than I can say for you. Come on Padfoot, let's go find her," James said to his friend, using his nickname and then walked out of the den without another word, opening the door and walking out. He left it open for Sirius.

Sirius wasted no time standing up and looking down at Petunia with disgust. Sirius himself had sibling issues, but this was just wrong. "Like she doesn't get enough at school?" he said to her with a shake of his head and started to walk out. When he reached the door he turned to look at Mrs. Evans. "Don't worry Mrs. E. We know how to deal with an angry flower," he told her reassuringly and winked and then left the house, closing the door as he set off to find where his best mate had gotten too.

"What were they even talking about?" Petunia asked, completely confused. She didn't know how those handsome boys would know what happened to Lily while she was at school. Surely they weren't freaks like her. There was no way boys like that could be friends with her sister, or even attend the same school. Petunia didn't even want to entertain the thought.

She looked first to her mother for some sort of explanation, she was sure she would know what was going on with the freak; however, it wasn't she who had answered. Instead, the reply came from Mr. Potter, his voice was the type that demanded you paid attention to him. It wasn't in a way that made you scared when he spoke, but more he was a man who had a lot of confidence in himself and it showed very much in the things that he did.

"You see young Miss, as with any community there are certain people who are looked upon as lesser people. In the Wizarding community, those people are Muggleborns. People like your sister who were born from a family where both parents lack magic," he said, speaking a little slower than normal to try and make sure the young girl understood what they were getting at.

Unlike many noble Pureblood families, the Potters didn't really care what your blood status was. The way they saw it was, if someone was born with magic, then they must have deserved it. People wouldn't just be born with magic if it wasn't supposed to be there.

After his speech, all was quiet in the family room. Lily's mother held a hand to her mouth and she looked like she was about to cry, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Petunia merely looked contemplative.

"So... She's the freak among freaks," Petunia finally said. That earned her a glare from the people in the room. She didn't even seem to think about what she was saying. Not for a moment did Petunia think about the way she spoke, maybe her head wasn't able to keep up with what Mr. Potter was saying when he started to talk about what it was like in the Wizarding community. She didn't understand the fact that the two Potters were magic just like her so called "freak of a sister".

"The poor dear; from what the boys have told me she used to end up in the Hospital Wing on a regular basis," Mrs. Potter said lightly. She looked over towards Mrs. Evans and saw the tears finally fall. Apparently she didn't know the full extent of what Lily went through when she was in school.

"I didn't know she was physically harmed. I knew she was bullied, but this?" she asked, her voice cracking a little as she spoke.

Mrs. Potter, noticing this, moved towards the woman in the chair and placed her hands on her shoulders comfortingly. Both women jerked a little when suddenly there was a loud noise and Petunia was standing up from her seat on the couch, her face looking red and fire clear in her eyes.

"Oh poor Lily, it must really suck to be her. Always the center of attention, the special one in the family. Look at that, we have a witch in the family, better dote upon her. Well what about me, huh? What about poor Petunia?" she yelled, a vein looking like it was ready to jump right out from under her skin. After her outburst she stormed out of the room and straight out the door, slamming it hard behind her, much as Lily had only moments before her.

Mrs. Evans and the Potters all stood there a moment, staring at where Petunia had been standing, more tears coming to Mrs. Evans' eyes. She hadn't realized what sort of problems her daughters had been having in their lives. What sort of mother did that make her? She didn't even notice that they were upset.

Mrs. Potter noticing the other woman's distress rubbed her shoulders soothingly. "Why don't we go make some tea, dear? I'm sure the boys will find Lily and calm her down, and I'm sure Petunia will find her way back," she told her and then made a little motion for her husband to go and make the tea while she tried to get the distressed woman to rise and follow them to the kitchen. The girls wouldn't be able to deal with anything if they had a mother who was distraught as well.

After a little coaxing, Mrs. Potter managed to get Mrs. Evans out of her chair and walked with her to the kitchen. Once she had her sat down in a chair she set about finding things in the cabinets like sugar and cream. There wasn't much more they could do until the boys calmed Lily down and brought her home, and Petunia came home.

For now, they would have to wait.


End file.
